It is well recognized that Americans write more checks than any other people in the world. Untold billions of checks are processed each year through this country's payment systems. Due to the ever increasing number of new businesses which open checking accounts, each year check usage continues to grow despite the availability of paperless methods of transferring money.
The banking industry generally processes checks and other items which are encoded with magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) code. This code is printed on a wide variety of items with magnetic ink in a widely recognized machine language. Although hereinafter reference is typically made to MICR code in association with checks, it should be recognized that items such as bank money orders, travellers checks, and even non financial documents may be analyzed in accordance with the present invention. Such MICR encoded documents are typically read by a variety of reader/sorters which generate the necessary item processing data needed for electronically processing the item. In order to properly generate a MICR encoded band, there are requirements which must be complied with regarding the paper utilized, document dimensions, MICR band location, dimensions and format of the MICR characters, print placement, print specifications, magnetic ink, etc.
Inevitably, of the vast number of documents read, a small percentage, e.g., one and one-half percent, are rejected as not being readable. These rejects may be caused by any of a wide variety of problems. For example, the rejects may be due to poor quality paper. Such poor quality paper may leave voids in the printed characters, or be the cause for very irregular character edges. Rejects may likewise be due to paper that tears too easily or whose leading edge frays as the item travels through the sorter.
MICR rejects are additionally caused by a printed image that is uneven, i.e., where the iron oxide is not evenly distributed, has voids, is not spaced correctly, or by type that is too thick or thin, or by dimensional problems stemming from faulty composition or plate making. Additionally, MICR rejects are often due to unwanted magnetic signals caused by extraneous ink in the area sensed by the reader/sorter.
As a final example, MICR rejects may also be due to the printing system that is used to transfer the image to paper. For example, an impact printing system, such as letterpress, may create a depressed impression in the paper, referred to as a debossment, at a particular character position which may make the character magnetically non-readable.
For a relatively large bank which may process, for example, a million documents per day, a one and one-half percent reject rate equates to 15,000 rejected documents per day. Each of these 15,000 documents must be handled manually and a corrected MICR code must be placed on the document so that it may be reread.
Each of the documents read by a reader/sorter has applied to it an identifying number, often referred to as a spray number, which is associated with all processed items. Accordingly, a check which initially could not be read and was rejected, can be identified by the processor associated with the reader/sorter when the same check is submitted in corrected form.
Although some financial institutions that correct rejected checks rely on an essentially manual reject repair process, more modern electronic equipment both magnetic and optical character recognition techniques, is also utilized to electronically determine the correct MICR code. After determining the correct MICR code, a coded strip is often secured to the document so that it may be resubmitted to the reader/sorter.
By whatever mechanism the rejected checks or other documents are repaired or placed into a form where they may be resubmitted to a MICR reader/sorter, such an operation creates a significant financial drain on the individual financial institutions taking corrective actions. Even if the cost for processing each rejected document is far less than a dollar a document, the actual cost to a bank over time to process, for example, 15,000 rejected documents per day is a significant operating expense.
In view of these circumstances, there is a dire need for a system which contributes to limiting the number of MICR documents that are not readable as well as a system which improves reject document processing.
The financial institution main frame data processor associated with the institution's reader/sorters have, heretofore, captured data relating to rejected documents. Such rejected document data is typically stored based on the spray number assigned by the reader/sorter that attempted to read the document. Such rejected document data includes data identifying the financial institutions to which the document must be routed, account numbers, etc.
Such rejected document data has heretofore been printed out in reader/sorter spray number order in a voluminous compilation of rejected documents for a given day. Such a report is typically reviewed by the financial institution's quality control. These rejected document reports are typically generated on a daily basis.
No cumulative rejected document data reports are generated relating to specific customer accounts which are responsible for large numbers of rejected documents. Although daily rejected document data has been maintained indicating which characters in a variety of fields could not be correctly read, no prior art system utilized such data to aid financial institution quality control personnel in directly attacking this rejected document problem.
The present invention is a microcomputer-based system designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs of item processing quality control operations in banks and other MICR processing institutions. The system is interactive and menu driven and provides financial institution management and quality control personnel with a powerful tool to help manage and control MICR encoded document rejects to reduce the rate of such rejects to a minimum.
The microcomputer-based system is linked to the bank's main frame computer to form a multiprocessor system allowing quality control personnel to capture meaningful document reject data, to select and process specific reject information by account, internal source within the bank, and other categories. The system produces a variety of screen displays and printed reports detailing and summarizing significant reject data to provide an up to date perspective on reject control and measurement.
The reject analysis dedicated microcomputer is linked to the bank's main frame computer either directly or indirectly by utilizing a main frame generated item processing magnetic tape file. The microcomputer-based system may, for example, include a PC having a keyboard and a CRT display, a tape drive, a hard disk, an extended RAM memory, and a printer for generating advisory letters and other hard copy documents. The microcomputer-based system also includes a MICR reader and analyzer which permits rejected checks to be analyzed for their MICR quality.
In accordance with one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a main frame item processing tape file is translated into a code compatible with the PC and read to the PC's hard disk memory where the data is assembled into unique data bases. After being loaded to disk, the system displays a daily summary report showing the total document items processed, the number of rejected items, as well as the rejected percentage. The summary display generically identifies rejected item sources and pinpoints those areas which require immediate attention.
Thereafter, the system interactively generates a series of display screens including a preprinted rejects report that identifies by account number, the accounts generating the highest number or percentage of rejected checks. In this fashion, the bank is able to quickly isolate those accounts having the most significant impact on its rejected items related operating expense.
By entering one of the account numbers identified on the preprinted rejects report, a user may retrieve up to date data relating to that account. The accessed account profile includes detailed data reflecting the account performance in terms of rejected items during the current month and over a predetermined period of time, e.g., twelve months. Additionally, the account profile also identifies the check printer for that account (who may be the source of the rejected check problem).
If further scrutiny of a particular account is desired, the system permits the operator to view a display of a list of the previous days rejected items for the account under review. The display shows each item's sequence number and displays the MICR line to identify which MICR characters were not read. In this fashion, the system allows the user to spot a rejected item error pattern in pre-printed or encoded MICR characters.
Additionally, in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, identified rejected items from an account may be analyzed by a MICR character analyzer for their quality, so that a user can determine the precise reasons why certain characters within the MICR line were not read so that specific recommendations may be made to the customer and/or check printer for correction.
Finally, a user after reviewing an account's current and past rejected item status from previous displays may elect to print and mail any number of letters commensurate with the severity of the account reject situation. A printout of a sample of the MICR analysis of the accounts rejects may be included with the customer's letter as well as an indication of the penalties to be imposed on the customer if such rejects continue. In this fashion, the source of the costly rejected items is identified, and action taken to attack this problem to ultimately reduce the number of items which the MICR reader/sorter will not be able read.